On the walk to school, always delightful chatting to the LiveWires, we pass by a garden full of golden gnomes and other ornaments.
Golden gnome garden
Outside one of the coffee shops are a pair of planters.
Colour on the High Street
LiveWire No3 is practising for a Poetry Slam next week. This is her poem –
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Eating black bananas
Where do you think he put the skins?
Down the King’s pyjamas!Anon. Taken from “Slurpy Spaghetti”
We awoke to find two beautiful White Poppies in bloom.
White Poppy
We have some more Blue Poppies and we love them too.
Blue Poppy
My choir, The Ingleheart Singers, sang at Open Studios at Krowji in Redruth today. The flags around the site were delightful.
Flag at Krowji
It was overcast but the rain held off for the very beautiful Humanist Wedding held in the grounds of the Meudon Hotel, Falmouth. The couple were very happy, of course, and the whole event full of love and joy.
Under the confetti arch
They chose some very interesting readings – this extract from The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman was particularly moving.
“I will love you forever; whatever happens. Till I die and after I die, and when I find my way out of the land of the dead, I’ll drift about forever, all my atoms, till I find you again… I’ll be looking for you, every moment, every single moment. And when we do find each other again, we’ll cling together so tight that nothing and no one’ll ever tear us apart. Every atom of me and every atom of you… We’ll live in birds and flowers and dragonflies and pine trees and in clouds and in those little specks of light you see floating in sunbeams… And when they use our atoms to make new lives, they won’t just be able to take one, they’ll have to take two, one of you and one of me.”
The gardens at The Meudon are glorious. We must visit again very soon.
I do love being the Celebrant at such happy occasions.
In Highgate, while waiting to meet a friend of many years, a Wedding Bus went by reminding us of Daughter No 2’s wedding 11 years ago when all the guests travelled from Marylebone Town Hall to the reception in just such a bus.
Wedding bus
Walking to the pub where we spent a happy three hours catching up over lunch, was this basement garden, surrounded by scaffolding but bright and cheery in the sunshine.
A front garden in Highgate
Leaving the pub, this magnificent Cherry tree full of blossom attracted my camera.
Blossom
We have some lovely white Primroses in the front garden. They have arrived all of their own accord.
White Primroses with the more common pale yellow ones for contrast.
In all our garden work, a Narcissus became broken so I brought it in where we can appreciate its beauty close up.
Anyone know the name of this beauty?
John Keats dated his poem, Endymion, April10th 1818, 200 years ago today. Here is a short extract which sums up my blog’s purpose.
From Endymion, Book 1
A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its lovliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkn’d ways
Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall
From our dark spirits.
On this day in 1909, my Great Grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Wiseman, Suffragette aged 53, was arrested in London having thrown stones to break windows. Subsequently she was imprisoned in Holloway, went on hunger strike, was force fed and was awarded the Suffragette Portcullis Brooch in recognition of her courage.
Suffragette Brooch
My Suffragette garden has lots of white but the purple Tulips are lagging behind.
Some Narcissi
I shall have to move some of the Fritillaria to the front as they do flower at the same time as the Narcissi.
Fritillaria
Done!
If you would like to read about a Suffragette’s life in Holloway, the Diary of a Suffragette makes very interesting reading. Click on the red link. https://wordpress.com/stats/insights/suffragettediary.wordpress.com
The big thaw has started in our part of the UK though the winds have been savage on the South coast. Our boiler is now working; the power cut was mended very quickly and we are warming up again. Thank you to so many of you for your concern. Being without heat and power surely makes one think about those without a roof over their heads in this bitter winter.
The resilience of the Spring flowers is remarkable. These in our garden are bouncing back.
St Michael’s Mount in the snow by Darren Strick
I have kindly been given permission by the photographer to use his beautiful photo here today. Thank you, Darren.
Commentator Award
Thank you, Tina Liu
